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Infamous John Hinckley Has More Freedom But Secret Service Still Has Interest

John Hinckley, who shot President Reagan in 1981, is a still a household name after all these years. He’s got more freedom these days. But when he leaves St. Elizabeths Hospital in D.C., he carries a GPS-enabled cellphone so hospital officials and the Secret Service can keep tabs on his whereabouts, the Washington Post reports.

John Hinckley Jr. -abc news photo

By Annys ShinWashington Post

WASHINGTON — John W. Hinckley Jr. is a man of routine. On warm days, he likes to sit on a bench outside the John Howard Pavilion on the grounds of St. Elizabeths Hospital and work his way through a stack of newspapers and magazines. He’s often seen walking alone on the hospital grounds or ducking into Martin’s, a nearby carryout, to pick up four-packs of 9 Lives to feed to stray cats.

At 54, the onetime presidential assailant lives like a kid on perpetual spring break. The closest thing he has to a 9-to-5 job is a volunteer gig at the hospital library. He fills his free time strumming on his guitar, crafting pop songs about ideal love, or going on supervised jaunts to the beach or a bowling alley.

After 28 years at the hospital in Southeast Washington, however, the realities of middle age have begun to set in.

His father, Jack Hinckley, died in 2008, inspiring the son to pen a tribute song titled “Hero.” His mother, Jo Ann, is 84. His siblings, Scott and Diane, live in Dallas. Over the government’s steadfast objections, U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman, who oversees his case, and Hinckley’s doctors are slowly preparing him for what they see as inevitable: his release from St. Elizabeths — life on his own.